ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nearly a decade ago, a 33-year-old Josh McDaniels left the Patriots for a head coach job with the Broncos, indirectly creating an opportunity for someone halfway across the country.

For someone McDaniels now calls "one of the best assistant coaches I've ever had the chance to work with."

McDaniels' 2009 departure caused some reshuffling in New England. Bill O'Brien, who had served as the team's receivers coach the previous season, was moved to quarterbacks coach. The team had one coaching assistant on the offensive side of the ball -- Shane Waldron -- and he earned a promotion to tight ends coach. This left a void at receivers coach, and Bill Belichick went outside of the organization to find his guy.

He honed in on Vikings assistant receivers coach Chad O'Shea.

"I remember it was at the Combine," said former Minnesota receivers coach George Stewart. "And (O'Shea) comes over and he says, 'Man, coach Belichick, he wants to interview me for a job.' I said, 'What?' He thought it was a joke at first, but then it became a reality."

How Belichick became alerted to O'Shea is unclear. O'Shea wouldn't "get into specifics" at Monday's Super Bowl media night (it's worth noting that O'Shea's father, Mike, was the head trainer of the Baltimore Colts when Belichick worked there as an assistant in 1975).

What is clear: McDaniels' second departure from New England, which seems imminent, could create another job opening O'Shea.

On Monday night in Minnesota, McDaniels sat in the stands at the Xcel Energy Arena. He was mobbed by reporters for the full hour of media night, going in-depth on his relationship with Bill Belichick, on his mistakes in Denver, on everything (without admitting that he'll be coaching the Colts in a week, of course).

A few rows behind McDaniels, O'Shea drew considerably less attention and wasn't nearly as reflective when asked about his journey.

But make no mistake: O'Shea is a leading candidate to replace McDaniels as New England's next offensive coordinator.

Widely respected within the organization, O'Shea has coached more than just the receivers in recent years.

"Chad's unbelievable," McDaniels said. "He's incredibly responsible for any and all of our success in the red zone. He does a lot of that work and prepares us well for that situation in the game."

Said Pats receiver Chris Hogan: "I love playing for Chad. He brings a lot of passion to the game and to this team."

O'Shea's career path doesn't align with the typical trajectory of Patriots assistants. He didn't start from the bottom in the New England organization like McDaniels, Matt Patricia, Nick Caserio, and Brian Flores (a candidate to take over at defensive coordinator in 2018). A college quarterback at Marshall and the University of Houston, O'Shea began coaching in the college ranks. He left Southern Miss in 2002 to take a volunteer job with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I always had a desire to work in the NFL," O'Shea said Monday. "I knew there was going to have to be a progression in what I needed to do in my career to keep going up."

O'Shea spent three seasons with the Chiefs, and then three with the Vikings from 2006-08. He was always the assistant receivers coach in Minnesota. Even when a job opened up for receivers coach in 2007, the Vikings went with an outside hire, nabbing veteran coach George Stewart. This meant the 35-year-old O'Shea would remain an assistant.

"I remember sitting down in that meeting room in Mobile, Ala., at the Marriot Hotel, where we had a staff meeting, and I didn't know anybody in that room, because I was the new coach in that room," Stewart recalled. "Didn't know who Chad O'Shea was, didn't know who my assistant was, didn't know I had an assistant. But he came from the other side of the table, pulled a chair up next to me. 'Coach Stewart, I'm Chad O'Shea, I'm your assistant.' That's the selflessness that he had. That spoke volumes of him. That's the type of person he is. Did not have an issue. Did not have envy in his body. Did not sense any animosity."

O'Shea spent two seasons working under Stewart, perfecting the scout team, performing administrative duties, helping to develop young receivers like Sidney Rice.

It was inevitable that he'd eventually leave.

"I knew if he had a chance to interview (with the Patriots), he'd get the job because of the person that he is, because of the way that he deals with people," Stewart said.

Stewart, now the special teams coach with the Chargers, offered the highest praise for O'Shea.

"At some point, he'll be a head coach in this league," Stewart said. "And I do believe that, because it's out there for him."

Patience is critical in NFL coaching circles. For three years, O'Shea couldn't graduate from assistant receivers coach in Minnesota. For nine years, he's earned the trust and respect of the Patriots. Maybe in his 10th year he'll earn a new job title.

"I think I've been very fortunate to work with George (Stewart) and I'm very humbled and very grateful for the opportunity to work with the Vikings and the Patriots and with Dick Vermeil and the Chiefs," O'Shea said. "I look at it every day as I'm the luckiest guy in the world that I get to walk into Gillette Stadium and get an opportunity to work."